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Easy answer #1, lower your screen resolution before connecting to the server in question. Problem solved! More difficult but more interesting way #2: To connect an rdp session in a maximized window: Create an RDP file at the resolution that you want, by opening mstsc.exe and setting up the name of the computer that you are connecting to and choosing a resolution OTHER THAN FULLSCREEN on the display tab, I would suggest a 16:10 resolution like these: This is a list of common screen resolutions with the 16:10 aspect ratio. Name Dimensions WXGA 1280×800 WXGA+ 1440×900 WSXGA+ 1680×1050 WUXGA 1920×1200
 On the General tab click "Save as". Save the .rdp file somewhere you will be able to find it later. Now, Open this .rdp file in notepad - (I suggest opening notepad first and then dragging and dropping the file onto it) Add the following line to the bottom of the file:
From Notepad's file menu, choose save and close. Smart sizing allows you to stretch your rdp session while connected, while keeping the same resolution. More on Smart sizing here. Double click on the rdp file that you have altered and your session will open in a regular desktop window, but you can now re-size that window by dragging the corner! This can make for some strange looking rdp windows: Now, you could just maximize that window, but you can also get it to switch to fullscreen by using the CTRL+ALT+Pause/Break, but you can't do that because you are using a MAC and are missing the keyboard pause/break key that you need to make your session go fullscreen. So if you must have fullscreen, you will need to download and install Autohotkey and create a script like the one here: http://www.rodolforodarte.com/2011/10/remote-desktop-won%E2%80%99t-go-back-to-full-screen-part-2/ Are your remote desktop icons too small? And is the text in your remote desktop programs so small that you’re starting to wonder whether you should get prescription glasses? (Or stronger ones in case you already have them). You’re not alone! (With the small icons, that is - I know very little about the proper strength of glasses). So you’re struggling with remote desktop scaling. Chances are that you have acquired a new device and now your remote desktop screen size is unworkable. It’s a common thing with more recent devices that come with higher screen resolutions. But you can fix that.I’ve had to fix it for a client who just bought a new Microsoft Surface Pro 7, which offers a screen resolution of 2736 x 1824. With these kinds of screen settings, working remotely (especially when connecting to older systems like a Windows 2008 server or a Windows 7 desktop) often displays the remote desktop icons too small (way too small). Fixing The Remote Desktop Icons Too Small IssueFortunately, you can remedy this situation and I will show you how. It’s relatively easy to do, although I have to admit that there’s a bit of Windows registry whispering involved. But don’t let that scare you, if you follow the steps exactly, you’ll be amazed how soon you’ll be working with a normal remote desktop screen size again.For the sake of completeness, I just want to quickly point out that the steps to correct this remote desktop icons too small situation need to be done on the computer where you will launch remote desktop, not the one you are remotely connecting to.Let’s start with the Windows registry setting. To do so, first press the Windows key + r on your keyboard to open up a run box: Now in the run box, type “regedit” (without the quotes) like in the image right here and click ok. If Windows prompts you with a user account control window like in the image below, click yes to continue. This will launch your registry editor, where you can navigate through the items in the left hand side column by clicking the “>” symbols next to the registry keys. Navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\SideBySide Then, right-click the SideBySide key and select new - DWORD (32-bit) Value (see image below).Change the name of the new entry to PreferExternalManifest (exactly like this) and press ENTER. Then, doubleclick the PreferExternalManifest entry and give it a value of 1, like illustrated in the image below. Then click ok and close registry editor. That’s all you need to do in the registry, you do however have to carry out one more step in order to fix your remote desktop scaling issue. You have to add a manifest file in the c:\windows\system32 directory of your computer (or the folder where you mstsc.exe is sitting). To make that easy for you, I have the correct version of the file you need available for download here (simply click the link to download the file). (You don’t have to worry about downloading this file, you can view it with a text editor to check its contents.) Once you have downloaded the file, right-click it (it’s a compressed folder) and select “extract all”.Select a destination to extract the files and leave the option to “Show extracted files when complete” checked so that you’ll automatically land in the destination folder after extraction. As a final step, copy the resulting file to your c:\windows\system32 folder (or the folder where mstsc.exe is located on your computer).That’s it, that should end the remote desktop icons too small situation on your computer. I hope my article was useful and that it helped you fix your remote desktop screen size. If you've enjoyed this article or found it useful, I'd appreciate it if you'd let me know by clicking the Like (or Share) button below. Thank you! Would you prefer to share this page with others by linking to it?
Every designated family technology enthusiast has had the call from Aunty Ethel asking for help with their PC, but what if they live too far away to realistically travel there? Fortunately, you can use a remote desktop connection to fix the computer from the comfort of your own chair. Unfortunately, remote desktop connections don't always work how you want. Here are several tips on fixing remote desktop issues so you can continue your role as the family system admin, no matter where you are. 1. You Can't Connect to the Remote ComputerFirst, check your network settings. Do both computers have a network connection? It is always the easiest connection issue that sneaks under the radar! If both computers have a network connection, you can move on. The Windows Remote Desktop Connection requires either an IP address or a name for the console you are attempting to view. Make sure you have the correct IP address for the remote computer. On the remote computer, you canvisitwhatismyip and copy down the address. If you are not with the remote computer, you must ask someone at the location to do this for you, then send over the IP address. Similarly, to find out the computer name of the remote device, head to Start Menu > Control Panel > Systemand view the computer name and workgroup. 2. Remote Connections Not AllowedYou might find that remote connections are disabled on the terminal you are trying to reach. You can alter this setting on the same System page as above. To the right of the computer name and workgroup, select Change Settings to open the System Properties menu. Select the Remote tab. Windows 10 offers the same Remote Desktop Connection options as older Windows versions. Under Remote Desktop, there are two options:
Once you allow remote connections, you also have the option of only accepting remote connections using Network Level Authentication. As stated on Microsoft Community, Network Level Authentication is "an authentication method that completes user authentication before you establish a full Remote Desktop connection and the logon screen appears." It provides an additional layer of security from malicious software and users while using fewer resources in the process. However, if you struggle to create a remote desktop connection after switching Network Level Authentication on, try turning it off. You can check if your version of Remote Desktop supports Network Level Authentication by clicking the top-left of the dialog box and select About. 3. Remote Desktop Connection for Windows 10 Home Using RDP Wrapper LibraryWindows 10 Home users struggle with Remote Desktop. Why? Because Windows 10 Home doesn't support incoming connections. At least, not natively. Windows 10 Home users can make an outgoing Remote Desktop connection to a different computer (not running Windows 10 Home!), but not vice versa. Thankfully, a simple, software-based fix works around the issue: the RDP Wrapper Library.
The RDP Wrapper Library uses the existing Windows Terminal Service and adds new Windows Firewall rules to remote desktop connections. The RDP Wrapper Library also provides an interface to manage remote desktop connections, as Windows 10 Home doesn't have an integrated solution. Here's how you allow remote desktop connections on Windows 10 Home using RDP Wrapper Library:
Confused? Check out the following video. It will guide you through the tricky bits of the installation, as well as how to set up your Windows 10 Home RDP Wrapper Library remote connection.
4. You Can't Copy Text From the Remote ComputerYou can use Remote Desktop Connection to copy text from one terminal to your own. If the copy text feature isn't working, you need to enable the Clipboard redirect function to use it on the remote computer.
5. The Remote Window Isn't the Correct SizeIncorrect window size is another common Remote Desktop Connection issue. When you create the remote desktop connection, the window is too large, too small, or doesn't correlate to the settings you input. You have two potential fixes here. First, you can force the Remote Desktop connection to use a specific size via the Run function. Hit Windows key + R, then input: mstsc.exe /h:X /w:XWhere "X" is the height and width of the Remote Desktop viewing window you desire. Remote Desktop Connection will remember your settings for future remote viewing settings. Second, the Remote Desktop Connection client has a handy screen resolution slider that scrolls from 640x480 up to Full Screen for your screen. Make sure to set the slider to Full Screen if you want a full-screen remote connection for each connection. 6. Delete Your Credentials to Reset Remote Desktop Connection LoginAt times, Windows Remote Desktop Connection finds your login details confusing. There is also the chance the login details for your system or the remote system are different from your last remote connection. You can remove and replace your existing credentials to try and fix the issue.
7. How to Save Your Remote Desktop Connection Custom SettingsIf you regularly connect to several different servers or clients, saving a custom configuration for each Remote Desktop will save time in the future. You can set the optimum width, height, and color settings for each server or terminal.
The first four lines show your remote connection screen size options (plus whether multi-monitor mode is available). You can edit the screen mode to set whether the remote window session appears full screen. For instance, id:i:2sets full-screen, whereas id:i:1sets the remote connection to appear in a window. If you set the screen mode to "2" for full screen, the desktopwidth and desktopheightvalues automatically match the screen size of the host client. However, if you are using screen mode "1," you can use the desktopwidth and desktopheight settings to set a specific window size. After you confirm your settings, add the following string to the end of the file: smart sizing:i:1Smart sizing allows you to dynamically alter your screen settings without messing around with configuration files while the Remote Desktop connection is active. However, you must add the string for each custom configuration you create. If you want to customize your remote desktop configuration file further, check out Donkz Remote Desktop file setting overview.
8. Handy Remote Desktop Connection ShortcutsYou can boost your Remote Desktop Connection productivity using a handful of keyboard shortcuts. These shortcuts are designed to work when you access Remote Desktop using the Run dialog.
You can use the following Remote Desktop shortcuts once your Remote Desktop connection is live:
Resolving Remote Desktop Connection Issues for Windows 10You can now connect to dear Aunty Ethel's computer from the comfort of your own home using a Remote Desktop Connection in Windows 10. You are saving yourself time and effort while hopefully lining you up for another sensational hand-knitted jumper. Fortunately, if you want to remotely help someone on a Windows machine using a Mac PC, you can do that too. This comes in handy if you're a huge fan of macOS but the rest of your family runs Windows machines.
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